Steve Smith seeks third term for Madison City Council Dist. 2

MADISON – Madison City Council president Steve Smith has declared his intention to run for a third term in the Aug. 25 municipal election. He is seeking to retain the District 2 position.

“The past 8 years I have been a strong voice on Council for the City to be fiscally responsible,” Smith said concerning his reason for seeking a third term. “During this time, I have led the charge to pay off all short-term debt and to strengthen our balance sheet. We now pay cash for all purchases and have the highest financial rating a city our size can have. As the city continues to grow, we must continue to pay close attention to our finances to ensure we sustain the success we are currently having. We have some big decisions coming up in regards to some major projects and I feel it is vital that my experience and knowledge of the City and our budget are a part of that discussion.”

Smith received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and computer information systems from Trevecca Nazarene University, where he received a baseball scholarship. He has worked in the transportation industry for 20-plus years and is owner of a transportation and brokerage/logistics company.

“My number one priority if reelected will continue to ensure our City remains financially strong,” Smith said. “We have to make sure Town Madison is successful. We have to continue to address our infrastructure and invest in our parks. We will also need to support our schools and ensure our Police and Fire Departments are properly funded to ensure the safety of our community.”

Steve and his wife Mickie have been married for 28 years. They have two sons: Spencerand Chandler. The Smith family attends Asbury United Methodist Church, where Steve has been an usher and greeter. Steve believes in community volunteering and has coached numerous recreational teams in basketball, football, baseball and soccer leagues.

Addressing some of his key contributions to the city over the past 8 years, Smith listed planning the expansion of County Line Road.  “I knew it would soon be just as busy as Hwy 72 and if not handled correctly, the additional traffic could alter the landscape of the area and place a negative effect on all the subdivisions that fed onto County Line,” he said. “One of the first things I worked on was updating our sign ordinance that would only allow monument signs within City limits. This gave us the ability to not have the tall bright neon signs that we see along 72. Eight years later, as businesses are moving in or updating their facilities, Madison is a much more attractive place because all businesses are conforming to the policy I help put in place. By working on an unknown sign ordinance, we are able to make our City more attractive and also maintain the high home values that we all expect.”

Smith also pointed to his efforts in updating the city’s financial policy. “Council folks come and go, but the policy stays, and by having strong, updated policies, I feel we have protected our City for a long time regardless of who sits on Council,” he said.

“I was also part of the team that created and implemented our City’s new Growth Policy that was approved by our Schools and adopted by Council,” Smith added. “This policy ensures we grow with our schools in mind and at a pace they can handle in order to continue to be successful.”

Smith also talked about his efforts to improve recreation offoprtunties in Madison over the past 8 years.  “For the longest time, our City did not have money to invest in itself but after working with the budget and getting it to the point where the budget started working for the City, instead of against it, we have been able to start investing in quality of life issues such as improving and adding to all recreational outlets available to us,” he said.

“I think we have strong leadership and we should continue to be committed to making our City the best it can be,” Smith said. “Madison is currently ranked the #1 City in Alabama to live, raise a family, and buy a house. We have made hard decisions and we must continue to be willing to make those hard decisions so our citizens have a great place to live and raise a family.”

For more information about Steve Smith’s candidacy, go to www.facebook.com/SteveSmithD2.